(RTTNews) – Gold prices were up more than 1 percent on Friday as a pullback in oil prices and global bond yields helped ease inflation and interest-rate concerns.
Spot gold jumped 1.1 percent to $4,388.34 an ounce, after having snapped a three-day decline the previous day on the back of easing oil prices and a weaker dollar. U.S. gold futures were up 0.6 percent at $4,427.09.
The dollar index steadied near a seven-week high as the Federal Reserve’s first interest-rate hike in three years instilled confidence in investors regarding the central bank’s resolve to bring inflation under control.
U.S. Treasury yields were mixed ahead of speeches by Federal Reserve officials Michelle Bowman and Jeffrey Schmid later in the day.
A European Central Bank survey showed earlier today that Euro Zone consumers nudged up their inflation expectations last month.
Median expectations for inflation over the next 12 months increased to 3.0 percent from 2.9 percent in July.
On Thursday, the Bank of England paused sales of British government bonds for the next six months and halted sales of long-dated gilts entirely as part of its quantitative-tightening program, bringing relief to a battered bond market.
Elsewhere in Asia, the Bank of Japan raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points today and warned that underlying inflation could exceed its 2 percent target amid rising wage and price expectations.
Oil prices extended losses for a third straight session, with Brent crude prices falling toward $102 a barrel on hopes of limited supply disruption and renewed diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
Concerns over supply disruptions eased following Saudi Arabia’s efforts to reroute crude exports through Oman and restore the East-West pipeline.
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